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2 Corinthians 8:7-9
New Catholic Bible
2 Corinthians 8:7-9
New Catholic Bible
The Example of Christ. 7 Now, inasmuch as you excel in everything—in your faith, your eloquence, your knowledge, your concern for others, and your love for us[a]—so we want you also to excel in this generous undertaking.
8 I am not saying this to you as a command, but rather I am testing the genuine character of your love by the concern you show for others. 9 For you are well aware of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he was rich, he became poor for your sake so that by his poverty you might become rich.[b]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Corinthians 8:7 Your love for us: some manuscripts read: “our love for you.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul now returns to the point, expressed earlier, about Jesus’ experience. Instead of using life and death (2 Cor 5:15) or sin and righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), he uses poverty and wealth. This passage has been interpreted by many scholars as referring to Jesus’ preexistence with God (“wealth”) (see Jn 1:1) and to his Incarnation and Death (“poverty”) (see Phil 2:6-8). Others take it to refer to phases of Jesus’ earthly existence, i.e., his sense of intimacy with the Father (Jn 10:15, 30; 11:42) and his feeling of estrangement from him in his Death (Mk 15:34).
